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Caine
Caine is considered to be the first and most powerful vampire. Regarded as a mythological figure among the Camarilla and a religious icon among the Sabbat, naturally accounts of Caine's life vary and often conflict each other. History The bulk of Caine's history is covered in the Book of Nod, the Erciyes Fragments, the Lilithian, and the Luciferian. These books conflict on Caine's motives, but all agree he killed his brother Abel. Land of Nod A farmer named Caine prepared a sacrificial offering to God, of his finest fruits and vegetables. His brother Abel also prepared a sacrificial offering, it being of the finest animals that he had raised. Either there was a dispute over whose offering was better, or God really favoured Abel's over Caine's. The final result ended in Caine "sacrificing" Abel on an altar, his brother being the "finest" offering he could give. As punishment, Caine's "Father" cursed him with a mark, and cast him out to wander in darkness in the Land of Nod. Roaming the Land of Nod, Caine encounters Lilith. She notices a swirling stain in the air around him, a mark of some dark unfathomed power: murder. He possessed the power to kill higher beings — not to hunt as Adam had, but to kill as had Jehovah. She was amazed, for he bore no signs of godhood but wandered in the dust like a lesser beast. Seeing that he is cold and hungry, she welcomes Caine into her warmth. Lilith identifies herself as Adam's first wife, the original wife of Caine's father. After staying with her for some time, the two become lovers. He realises that she has powers and magic that he too would like to possess, so he pleads her for these gifts. The hesitant Lilith then prepares an Awakening ceremony by cutting herself with a knife, bleeding into a bowl, and giving it to him so that he may drink. After Caine partakes of Lilith's blood, he is visited by three angels who are agents of God. Each angel offers Caine a chance to repent for the murder of Abel. However, Caine rejects each of them. And for each angel he rejects, a curse is added on to him. He and his children are cursed with a weakness to fire, vulnerability to sunlight and the Beast Within that hungers for blood. A fourth angel then appeared to offer the way of Golconda, the only way to "light", by the mercy of God. After the experience, Caine becomes officially "Awakened", possessing the following Disciplines: Celerity, Potence, Fortitude, Obfuscate, Dominate, Presence, Protean, Animalism, and Auspex. Caine then became aware of the Path of Blood, the Final Path from which all paths stem. And with all these powers, he breaks his bond with Lilith and leaves her. Caine continues to wander the Land of Nod in loneliness. The memory of his sin drowned him in sorrow. It was not for many ages until he decides to be amongst mortal men again. His powers and his mark were well known to mortal men and some even worshipped him. Finally, Caine settled in a small agricultural community, named Ubar. It was here, in this First City that he became the Dark Father. The Dark Father Caine finally settled in a city, once known as Ubar. It was inhabited by the "Children of Seth" and ruled by King Enoch. The people of Ubar were aware of Caine's mark and both marveled and feared his power and thus came to worship him. Upon arrival to the city, Enoch relinquished his kingship, so that Caine may rule instead. According to a Toreador legend, being amongst the mortals, Caine noticed a couple who were very much in love. Seeing their love amplified his own loneliness and sin. After having dwelt on his sin for an eon, Caine thought that maybe he could reconcile something in his nature by Embracing them with the gift of immortality, so that their love would live for all eternity. However, after having been Embraced, the lovers discovered that they could not have children together. In an act of despair, they both walked into the sunlight to their Final Death. Caine was so heartbroken over the event that he forbade anyone to speak their names. Thus, their names were lost to history. The former king, Enoch, desired Caine's power once more and requested it as such. However, Caine showed some reluctance because of the loss of the lovers he had Embraced decades ago and Uriel's warning. Yet the raging of the Beast within, the yearning to be with others like him, and Enoch ultimately begging for the Embrace, Caine turned the young man. In honour of his newfound vampiric childe, Caine declared that Ubar now be known as the City of Enoch. After some time, Enoch desired Kindred brethren. With Enoch's insistence, Caine Embraced his second childe, Irad, imparting to him a strength unlike any other. Irad thus became Caine's arm, a commander of armies. Soon to follow was Zillah. Zillah was so beautiful, Caine could not resist the Embrace. Interestingly, even after the Embrace, Zillah did not desire him. It frustrated Caine to the point that he was ripping his hair out of his head. He did anything and everything to make her desire him. Yet, she would not have him. Finally, Caine sought the Crone's magic, who ultimately tricked him into a blood bond, she forced the First Vampire to Embrace her. The Crone sent her new thrall away, telling him that his blood would have the power to bond others as Caine himself was bonded to the Crone. The discovery of the blood bond was what finally made Zillah agree to marry her sire Caine. For a year and a day Caine laboured in the service of the Crone. However, Caine never again drank from the Crone's blood during that period. One night, he tricked her by saying he had terrible dreams in his sleep, and was fearful that his childer lusted after his blood. He asked the Crone for secret knowledge to protect himself against his progeny, and in response to his pleas the Crone went to a tree made of gopher wood and broke off a limb, sharpening it into a stake. She told Caine to pierce the heart of his wayward childe with it to render him still. Caine thanked the Crone, and using quick movements Caine seized the stake and drove it into her heart, breaking the blood bond in the process. He kissed her cold withered lips and left her to meet the sunrise. Now there were three Second Generation childer who co-existed in the City of Enoch: Enoch, Irad, and Zillah. They in turn learned the ways of making progeny and had Embraced the Third Generation. Under Caine's order, he declared it law that no more childer be made. Supposedly they obeyed and the city prospered for ages, becoming the First City of vampires. The city's economy thrived on the technology and the agricultural "know-how" that Caine brought to the First City. One, having wandered throughout the Cradle of Civilization, he was able to bring Sumerian technology, namely "the wheel". Two, being a farmer most of his life, Caine had cultivated wondrous and perfect groves. So for generations, under Caine's rule, the economy prospered, and the city became a mighty Empire. The Third Generation Antediluvians even built statues, shrines, temples, a grand library, and pools all surrounding a large five level palace, that Caine ruled from, upon his lofty ivory throne. The Deluge changed everything. It destroyed the City of Enoch and all of the "Children of Seth". Caine was so despondent, that he disappeared. His surviving childer and grandchilder sought him out, and when they found him, Caine told them to go away. Left to fend for themselves, the Antediluvians ended up "killing" Caine's second generation childer. When Caine discovered what happened, he sought out the Antediluvians who had rebuilt a new city, known as the Second City. Unbeknownst to them, the Dark Father cursed his descendants with the characteristic weaknesses of each clan. Interpretations During the 13th century, Caine was revered in a trinity.[ * The Dark Father: Caine as the father of the Cainite race. Medieval Cainites saw the existence of Caine as the proof of God's existence, as God was the only one who could have cursed Caine in that way. * The Wanderer: A figure similar to the mythical "Wandering Jew", this Caine is a wanderer who never finds rest, awaiting the day of judgement and hoping to one day be freed from his curse. * The Dark Tyrant: Caine as a wrathful figure who will judge over the sins of his descendants with biblical vengeance, ruling over them for a thousand years covered in darkness. In the modern era, many Kindred have different views of Caine, reflecting the trinity popular in the Dark Ages, albeit as individual interpretations and not three aspects of a single dark godhead: * Dark Father: Emphasising the eschatological aspects of Noddism. This Caine is a dark god who wreaks havoc and judgement on his descendants. This is the most common depiction among the Sabbat who view themselves as his weapon. * Fisher King: The standard "regretful Caine". The Fisher King interpretation feels remorse for his actions and now seeks a way out. A common interpretation among the Camarilla, who use the legend of Caine as cautionary tales for fledglings. * The Great King of Blood and Darkness: In Dies Ignis, Caine is depicted as the first being to deny the gifts of the "One Giver" in place of his own gifts, and thus as the one whose "gifts" tainted the rebel angels and caused them to become demons. Depending on geography, some vampires coming from a pagan background refer to a figure similar to Caine, although with another name: * The Laibon speak of Cagn, who courted the daughter of the sun and fought the Lion of Death; Canarl The einherjar of the Norse have their own interpretations of "Caine" and instead refer to him as Canarl. In the beginning, in the darkness of the void, Odin and the Æsir were birthed from the giants and old gods. Slaying Ymir and taking Asgard as their home, the Æsir ruled over Valhalla, the hall of the valiant, in the land beyond to mortal realm. Many and varied where the creatures that lived beyond Middle-Gard: the elves, the dwarves, the trolls and jotunn; from time to time these beings would deal or clash with the gods, and on strange days they would come to Middle-Earth itself, to become involved in the works of men. Odin One-Eye, lord of the slain and necromancer, came to Middle-Earth with his valkyries to find warriors of valor. Among the dead they would pick and choose, taking up the most skilled and courageous to stay in Valhalla, where they would feast and fight until Ragnarok came to claim the gods and shake the world. With spear and runes Odin walked through the fields of the dying, seeking the warrior who would slay the jotunn and forge the destiny of the new world after Middle-Earth's end. On the fields of one terrible battle Odin found a warrior of great strength and tenacity. Cast out by his family for his rage, this berserk drew about him a loyal band of housecarls who shared his fortunes and fought with him in all things. But wounded in war, laid low by evil spaework and telling blows, they were scattered dead across the plains of battle, where blood stained the earth like red iron. Only the lone berserk still lived, his outlaw body refusing to heed the call of Heimdall's horn. For vitality and skill Odin marked the dying warrior; coming low upon the man, he whispered to the man's dying spirit, asking his name so he could adress him in Valhalla. "Canarl, I am named" gasped the outlaw, "Called the bastard, for my family disowned me. I have fought many fields of battle ever since, but by the rune-mark on my forehead I may never die." Odin looked upon the man's head and saw there the mark and knew his words where true. Then, with seeing from his one eye did Odin read the threads of fate, and cast the lot of Canarl. "As your valour stands against death, so shall you stand against the ravages of time. Your skill is mighty but by my hand it shall be mightier. your blood spilled on this field makes the ground red; I shall turn my blood to you, and through it you will know my strength. Be strong the thews of your legs! Be mighty the grip of your spear! By the rune-mark on your forehead you shall never be touched by age: by the arts of war shall you rule!" As Odin spoke he brought his spear, Gungnir, down to face Canarl, and from its tip did run the bright red blood of the god. Three drops fell upon the lips of Canarl, and he was struck with battle-frenzy; his body twisted and his lungs choked, and he died yet lived! With the mighty pronouncements of fate and the power of his blood, Odin gave Canarl eternity, but fate demanded satiation. Odin's eye stared again into the ways of the future and he intoned the demands of the Norns. "With this bond in secret made you must ever hide from discovery, and so shall you shun the light of the sun and fire. No meat contains the potence to sustain you, no mead can intoxicate you; only the blood of men can bring warmth to your breast. From the lifeblood of the strong is your puissance multiplied. Blood you have spilled, and more blood still shall you spill; and only by coming closer to my blood shall your house know greatness." At length, Odin spoke a final time, this time slowly and with deliberation, saying, "But if you scorn the ways of war, if you take up the mantle of the Vanir, then you shall stand beside them in the final nights; put aside spear and axe and you will know no peace from brethren but those whom you will find in Vanaheim. In the words of the Vanir you will survive with the gentle while the warriors know glory and death at Ragnarok." Odin drew back from Canarl, drew up his spear and called for his ravens. Canarl rose from the ground, and to his left he placed his wounds on the mouth of Ivar, his thegn, who then rose; and to his right he placed his wounds upon the mouth of Odindisa, his wife, who then rose; and before him he placed his wounds upon the mouth of Eyjolf, his skald, who then rose. And they gathered to them the sacraments of the dead, and built there a city raised to Odin. The Bloody Man The Garou know little about traditional vampiric mythology and instead tell the legend of the Bloody Man. The Silver Record claims that the Weaver was impatient for mankind to turn towards her. Unable to approach them openly, for the Garou guarded their families ferociously, she stole a man and wove her webs around him. The man's internal spark of the Wyld was snuffed and his spirit left his body. However, through the Weaver's work, he was unable to die and begged her to save him from the fate of decomposition - the Weaver obliged and soon found herself enthralled in her newest servant. The Man, now immortal, became greedy and learned from the Weaver how to manipulate the strands of the Pattern Web for his own use. This intrusion angered the - still uncorrupted - Wyrm, who swallowed the Man to return him to the cycle of being. But the Man was still immortal and within the Wyrm's belly, he began to feed on the blood of the Great Devourer. The Wyrm, howling in pain, spat out the blood-soaked Man, whom all of creation abhorred. Helios then cast his angry gaze upon him, and the Bloody Man was forced to flee beneath the earth. Gaia herself cursed him to hunger forever for blood, to enter age-lasting sleep without dreams and to be unable to conceive and only able to corrupt. Helios warned the Bloody Man that if he or his progeny would ever show his face to him again, he would burn them to cinders. The Bloody Man entered a long-lasting sleep beneath the earth and awakened several centuries later. In the meantime, the Wyrm was weakened by the internal wounds the Bloody Man had inflicted upon it, later allowing the Weaver to trap it in its webs. Sacred Texts The Book of Nod The Book of Nod consists of multiple recensions and fragments that have been reassembled by various Cainite scholars, such as Aristotle deLaurent, Beckett, and Sascha Vykos. There have been attempts to compile these texts into one book, but, traditionally, the primary transmission of Caine's story is oral (through Sabbat ritae or storytelling among the undead), while the texts with the most important events in Cainite history are heavily guarded to protect the Cainites. It must be mentioned that one's own personal beliefs aside, the texts and notes that have been passed down through the ages should be treated with great caution. The Chronicle of Caine The Chronicle of Caine comprises the following fragments: The First of Times, The Coming of Lilith, Lilith's Magick, The Temptation of Caine, Zillah's Tale, The Tale of the Crone, and The Tale of the First City. Although Caine is identified with the "Cain" mentioned in the Book of Genesis, these Tales are not to be comparatively accurate with standard biblical canon. In his own words, Caine relates what his motives were that led to his curse, giving his personal viewpoints of the events that surrounded the days after the Fall of Man, and his history of being the Dark Father. * In The First of Times, Cain explains that he sacrificed his brother, Abel, out of love. His "Father" cast Cain out, to wander in darkness in the Land of Nod. * In The Coming of Lilith, Cain expresses his sadness of being left in the darkness, cold and hungry. Then enters Lilith, who tells Cain that she was Adam's first wife, the original wife of his father. She takes him in and cares for Cain. * In Lilith's Magick, Cain wishes to have the gifts of power that Lilith has. After some persistence, the hesitant Lilith begins the Awakening ceremony by cutting herself with a knife and bleeding into a bowl for him to drink. Cain partakes. * In The Temptation of Caine, Cain is visited by three angels who are agents of God. Each angel offers Cain a chance to repent for Abel's murder. By rejecting the Archangel Michael, Cain and his children are cursed with a weakness to fire. By rejecting Raphael, Cain and his children are cursed with the vulnerability to sunlight. By rejecting Uriel, Cain and his children are cursed with the Beast within for a thirst of blood. A fourth angel then appears, he who is Gabriel. This angel offers Golconda, the only way to "light" by the mercy of God. After this experience, Caine is now officially "Awakened" having the following powers: Celerity, Potence, Fortitude, Obfuscate, Dominate, Presence, Protean, Animalism, and Auspex. Caine then becomes aware of the Path of Blood, the Final Path from which all paths stem. And with all these powers, he leaves Lilith. * In Zillah's Tale, Caine falls in love with Zillah and seeks to marry her. He does everything he can think of to make her desire him, yet she would not have him. Caine becomes so frustrated, that he tears at his hair. He finally seeks out the Crone's magick, who ultimately tricks him into a blood bond. This discovery of the Blood bond is what finally binds Zillah to Caine so that he could get her to marry him. * In The Tale of the Crone, the Blood bond that has Caine bound to the Crone, has him in her servitude. After a year of compliance and avoiding her blood, he asked the Crone how to be more powerful than his childer, for fear that they may take over. This inquiry was really part of a plan to use this information against her. She provides him a weapon of living gopher wood and explains how to use it. After accepting the weapon, Caine stabs her in the heart with it, breaking the Blood bond. * In The Tale of the First City, Caine expresses being in loneliness for an eon. He seeks to be with mortals again, and finds a city inhabited by the "Children of Seth". They accept him as king and he rules for some time, again feeling alone in his power. A young man named Enoch begs to be Caine's son. Despite Uriel's warning about having childer, Caine Embraces Enoch, his first childe. Caine then proclaims that this First City be known as the City of Enoch. His new childe Enoch, then begs for Kindred brethren. Caine agrees, and has Irad and Zillah embraced. They in turn, create more progeny. For fear of spreading his curse, Caine's orders that no more childer be made. They obey and the city prospers for ages, becoming a great Empire. Then the Deluge came and destroyed the City of Enoch and all of the "Children of Seth". Caine was so upset, that he disappeared. His surviving childer and grandchilder sought him out, and when they found him, Caine told them to go away. Left to fend for themselves, a Great War ensued with thirteen Antediluvians "killing" their Elders: Enoch, Irad and Zillah. When Caine discovered what happened, he sought out the Antediluvians. They had rebuilt a new city known as the Second City and produced another generation of vampire. Unbeknownst to the Antediluvians, the Dark Father Caine cursed his descendants with the characteristic weaknesses of each clan. Eventually the city is in constant state of war, it dies, and the Kindred scatter. The Tale concludes with a prophecy of a Last City, the City of Gehenna. The Chronicle of Shadows The Chronicle of Shadows 'are a collection of pieces and fragments that are debated to even be part of the ''Book of Nod. There are analysts who claim that this section had been diluted by the scholars and writers of Carthage, who took poetic license to write down "Caine’s Laws." It has even been said that the Chronicle of Shadows is just a collection of propaganda created by the Camarilla to support its tyrannical reign. While some believe this to be an elaborate Malkavian prank, others believe these texts came straight from the Dark Father himself, especially the thirteen commandments that were provided on authentically aged tablets. The Chronicle of Secrets The '''Chronicle of Secrets is the shortest collection of the three Chronicles. It contains prophecies and visions of an event called Gehenna. It seems to some, that the worries of this event have passed down from Generation to Generation and have caused a ripple of paranoia and fear that continue to reverberate through the Cainites and the kine. The Camarilla would rather see these texts just burn. Revelations of the Dark Mother Revelations of the Dark Mother is a compilation by Rachel Dolium in response to Aristotle de Laurent's compilation The Book of Nod. Revelations of the Dark Mother compiles various accounts of Lilith, the titular Dark Mother, and of her Bahari cults. A heretical text among the Sabbat.Category:Vampire the Masquerade Category:Lore